Nuggets visit the Big Easy to take on Hornets

Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One slip at the controls and the Denver Nuggets will have some company atop the Northwest Division standings. They'll try to prevent that from happening tonight, when they resume a four-game road trip against the New Orleans Hornets in the Big Easy.

Denver has won four in row and sits just one game ahead of Utah in the division. The Jazz have also won four straight and will play Milwaukee Friday night at the Bradley Center.

The Nuggets are one game behind Dallas for the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference and opened the trek with Wednesday's 110-102 triumph at Minnesota thanks to 25 points from Chauncey Billups. It was the 19th time in the past 28 games in which Billups has scored 20-plus points. He is averaging 22.9 ppg over that stretch.

Carmelo Anthony recorded 19 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Nene contributed 17 points and nine boards for Denver, which is 15-16 away from the Rocky Mountains and will also visit the Grizzlies and Rockets on the trip. The Nuggets played without head coach George Karl, who had to take a game off for the second time this season. Karl is undergoing radiation and chemotherapy to combat throat and neck cancer.

"We know how our team does against certain teams," assistant coach Adrian Dantley said. "We got to correct that and try to come out with effort and play harder. But no matter how much George might tell them or I might tell them, we still took it easy in the first half and came through in the second half. We don't like that but it worked out for us tonight."

Denver has scored 110 points or more in each of the last four games, averaging 117.3 ppg in that time. It is 8-12 in the previous 20 road games after beginning the campaign 7-4 as the visitor.

Meanwhile, the Hornets are running out of time on a possible postseason spot and sit six games off the eighth and final playoff berth in the West. They have dropped five of the last six games, including Wednesday's 98-83 setback at Oklahoma City.

David West netted a game-high 33 points and Marcus Thornton chipped in 11 points off the bench for New Orleans, which got eight points and nine assists from rookie Darren Collison. Collison is averaging 18.5 points, 8.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds in 27 games as a starter. He has taken over nicely for injured All-Star guard Chris Paul.

"Tonight we just didn't have enough of a response to some of the things they were doing," West said of the young Thunder. "They've got a really good group of young players. They're backcourt was strong. I think they're penetration area just beat us out front."

West is posting 30.5 points on 25-of-38 shooting in his last two games. The Hornets will try to improve its 21-11 home record tonight before opening a five-game road trip on Sunday. On the injury front forward James Posey (illness) is questionable for Friday's game.

The 2009-10 series between Denver and New Orleans is tied at a game apiece, with each team holding ground as the host. These two teams have split the past 26 matchups.

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MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds

With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.

Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season.  Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money. 

This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy.  A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.

Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:

Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame)
Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma)
Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State)
Michael Bush (RB, Louisville)
Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia)
Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville)
Chris Leak (QB, Florida)
Mike Hart (RB, Michigan)
Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State)
Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame)
Drew Tate (QB, Iowa)
Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal)
Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn)
Chad Henne (QB, Michigan)
Kyle Wright (QB, Miami)
Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State)
Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama)
JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU)
Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State)
Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina)
Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech)		 5-2
7-2
7-1
10-1
10-1
12-1
12-1
18-1
18-1
20-1
30-1
35-1
35-1
40-1
50-1
50-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
60-1

For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.

FOOTBALL BETTING LINES

NFL Football Sports Betting

Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
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